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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday during a news briefing that today will be the most intense day yet of U.S. strikes inside Iran.
Early Tuesday, Iran fired drones towards Saudi Arabia and Kuwait early as President Donald Trump sent mixed messages about how long the war could last.
Trump on Monday said that the "excursion" in Iran will be "short-term" and laid out plans to implement oil-related sanctions to alleviate price hikes.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Taybeh in southern Lebanon as seen from nearby Marjeyoun on March 10, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP via Getty Images)
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But hours later, Trump threatened in a social media post that the U.S. will dramatically increase attacks if Iran tries to close the Strait of Hormuz, the Associated Press reported.
Prices of oil began to slowly fall and stocks in the United States rose on hopes that the war with Iran may not last much longer.
Here’s the latest from Tuesday:
Caine: No request for tanker escorts through Strait of Hormuz yet
9 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the military is considering options to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is open for tanker traffic but has not yet been asked to escort tankers through the narrow passage.
Speaking at a Pentagon news briefing, Caine said military leaders are looking at "a range of options" and would present them to Trump if asked.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted President Donald Trump’s threat on Monday to increase strikes on Iran by 20 times if it stops the flow of oil through the Strait. He also said Iran’s decision to target its neighbors was a desperate move that would only drive other Middle East nations toward the U.S., the AP reported.
"I can’t say that we anticipated necessarily that’s exactly how they would react," Hegseth said.
Iran is firing off fewer ballistic missiles, drones since U.S. campaign began
8:45 a.m. ET: Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the number of ballistic missiles fired off by Iran continues to go down since the first day of the U.S. military’s campaign against Iran.
Speaking at a Pentagon news briefing, Caine said missile attacks have fallen 90% and one-way attack drones have decreased 83% since the war began.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the numbers show U.S. strikes are making progress by wearing down Iran’s defenses and its ability to strike its neighbors and U.S. forces.
"That is strong evidence of degradation," Hegseth said of the numbers.
Hegseth says Tuesday will be the "most intense day of strikes inside Iran"
8:15 a.m. ET: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Tuesday morning from the Pentagon that "today will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran."
The Associated Press reported that Hegseth’s statement came shortly after he said that "the last 24 hours have seen Iran fire the lowest amount of missiles they have fired yet."
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the same news conference that the U.S. military is moving into the 11th day of its operation against Iran, the AP noted.
Operation Epic Fury news conference
7:22 a.m. ET: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine will hold an on-camera press briefing at 8 a.m. ET in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room.
Iranian security official threatens Trump
7:20 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that Ali Larijani wrote a message on X Tuesday after President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran "TWENTY TIMES HARDER" if Tehran stopped oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
RELATED: Seventh fallen US soldier identified as Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 26, of Kentucky
Larijani wrote: "The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself."
Accordign to the AP, Iran has been accused of plotting attempts to kill Trump in the past.
7th fallen soldier returns to US
Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined the grieving family of a Kentucky man who was the seventh U.S. service member to die in combat during the Iran war as his remains were brought back to the U.S. Monday evening.
The dignified transfer, which honors U.S. service members killed in action, took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky, died Sunday after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, a Pentagon statement said.
The Pentagon also released the names of the other soldiers who were killed after a drone strike in Kuwait earlier this week:
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
- Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.
- Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa.
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento
- Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa.
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska.
All six were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Trump disappointed after Iran names new leader
On Monday, the president shared he was disappointed with Iran's newest leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene.
Khamenei was named the successor on Sunday.
He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.
Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader, and now the younger Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy.
The 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics, selects Iran’s supreme leader.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from previous reporting by The Associate Press and LiveNOW from FOX. This story was reported from San Jose, California and Washington, D.C.